[BobbyB]

An Invitation to Join The ALS Advocacy Community

You've been invited to join The ALS Advocacy Community by gamboachuck@....

This community is designed to be a safe, comfortable place for members to find
and support one another, sharing stories, conversations, and as much or as
little personal information as they wish. This community is not a substitute for
a doctor/patient relationship, but rather a place for those affected by medical
conditions to seek out and help one another.

Visit http://als.clinicahealth.com today to learn more about The ALS Advocacy
Community and become a member! After registering, visit
https://als.clinicahealth.com/~Oldchuck if you would like to become friends with
this member.

[BobbyB]

Ride for Strength
May 27, 2007
(All Day)
Proceeds from this event go to the ALS Association - Rocky Mountain Chapter



In May of 2006, the father of my best friend passed away from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Mr. George Ralston, whom I had known for 26 years, was one of the greatest men I have known. He never held anything back and always told you how he saw things, whether it was good or bad. He never shied away when things got tough, but rather faced adversity head on. On the outside he appeared tough as nails but if you were fortunate enough to really get to know him, he was a very caring, loving and funny man. Words cannot expalin the profound impact Mr. George Ralston had on my life; his presence in my life helped mold me into the man I am today.

ALS is a progressive degeneration of the motor neurons and will eventually lead to death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed. Yet, through it all, for the vast majority of people, their minds remain unaffected.

ALS affects as many as 30,000 people in the United States with 5,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Worldwide there are about 120,000 cases each year, which amounts to 328 new cases a day. One thing is for sure, there is no cure for ALS and all of these people are going to pass away from this terrible disease.

A cure for ALS will be in the distant future but right now money is needed to fund research. In an effort to raise money for the ALS Association I have decided to ride my bike across the United States. I am calling my trek across America the "Ride for Strength", because strength is what it will take to complete this trip and strength is what ALS steals from its victims. This ride is my attempt to honor the memory of George Ralston and raise money for finding a cure.

The "Ride for Strength" will begin May 27th in Oceanside, CA and end 3,058 miles away in Ocean City, NJ on June 26th. I am going to ride 100 miles a day for 30 days. I would like to ask for your help to raise money for the ALS Association by making a donation to support me, and our friends across the world who battle ALS daily.

If you would like to contribute to my effort by donating of your time, effort or services, that would be greatly appreciated as well. Click here to email me, or find out more information on my website www.rideforstrength.org.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and hopefully our combined efforts can assist in finding the cure for ALS.
Tim Cody

$545.00 Raised